matthew feldt's idea of the day

idea of the day

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i'm not going to return to regular posting until next week but i couldn't pass up at least commenting on mccain's choice for vp.

kudos to him for selecting someone who is almost everything he is not: young; female; a true christian conservative; and not a lobbyist-loving beltway politician.

unfortunately the characteristic they do share is fatal, neither is presidential.

idea of the day

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

elvis has left the building.

i'm referring to ethan no longer haunting victoria ave.

huge thanks to everyone who called, came by or brought farewell gifts to our little celebrity.

provided we clear customs the next time i post we'll be back in the united states.

i'll be taking a few days off to cope with the culture shock of the returning to the states and to clear the tears that began yesterday when i started packing for the return...

idea of the day

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i am afraid of the recycling troll

behind the walls, through the chutes and past the bins lives the recycling troll.

i have never caught more than a glimpse of the troll as he dips from bin to bin.

but if i accidentally put the wrong item down the chute the troll will screech. "aluminum soda cans and soup tins don't belong together!"

i can see the pictures on the wall describing which items belong where, but they aren't always clear and not every item i have is shown.

the recycling troll doesn't care for my confusion and is intolerant of any errors.

so i dance between the chutes, sneaking my items in each bins, afraid of making a mistake and angering the troll.

i am afraid of the recycling troll.

idea of the day

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

every day when ethan walks to kindy, he visits with all his friends. he knows most the folks up and down victoria avenue and has progressed to hugging terms with many. this is a signed picture from the local courier post man. a local flier captured his van in front of the sarjeant art gallery and he wanted ethan to have something to remember him by.

it won't be easy for any of us to leave wanganui...

idea of the day

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

the first spam i ever received that actually tempted me to visit their site.

darkstone mu online is a mmorpg that takes the player, into a fantasy world full of excitement, adventure and monsters. with several ways to train a character, multiple character classes, and a vast continent to explore, gmo is a sure way to a unique adventure. join thousands of players from all over the world and help defend the continent of legend, clearing it from the clenches of kundun and his forces forever... with new content and features being introduced regularly, this game is perfect for those looking for an exciting mmo experience.

you start off as a dark wizard, a dark knight, dark lord, magic gladiator, a summoner or a fairy elf, with accordant strengths and weaknesses. you can save different base characters, a fun feature that allows you to begin play as a wizard, and later, restart and switch to a knight--but not both at the same time. the look of your character changes to reflect any new accoutrements you get, including wings and spells. there's also a coordinate system on display, so it's easier to move around the elaborate mu world. items can be combined in many different ways, but more game experience gets you better gear. you can even fight other players, but be warned: if you kill too many innocents, you'll be branded a murderer.

i'm such a dork and so love earning the brand murderer...

idea of the day

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i was telling a new friend about all the attention our blonde, curly haired daughter got from young, female, asian tourists while we've been on holiday in new zealand. it was like our daughter was the latest, greatest hello kitty product and all these young girls had to have their picture taken with her.

my friend responded by telling me he would like to see one of these asian girls photo albums because when he was in auckland he saw a bunch of them posing all around a coke machine.

his story certainly seems to diminish the shine of my daughter's celebrity.

idea of the day

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

the possessions we left behind in north carolina for our tenants to use were dramatically nicer than those we were given when we arrived in new zealand.

our family is very conscientious but there have still been accidents. a broken dish here and child vomit launching there so i can't say the property we were given here doesn't show some signs of additional wear.

based on some of the reports i've gotten on our tenants in north carolina i suspect i may miss the possessions here...

idea of the day

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

a sure sign of the end of the empire.

along with everyone else, the wanganui chronicle in new zealand is kicking sand in the face of the u.s.

idea of the day

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

after months of refusing potty training and running off to hide where she could soil her diaper in private our youngest has finally accepted the toilet and has reinforced my suspicion that women make a much bigger mess of the loo than men ever could.

idea of the day

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i have read opinions that state computers and mobile devices are reducing the quality of expression in written text as punctuation is gets dropped in favor of reducing key strokes or because the punctuation keys can't be found easily.

in similar fashion, i don't waste the extra 'shift' keystroke necessary to type capital letters and am routinely criticized (ok, mostly by my father) that my writing is incomprehensible without capitalization.

reading through some of my recent email i see that i've devolved even further by eliminating segues. a blank line is all i provide to move from commenting on language to

guess the chinese took lip sync lessons from milli vanilli.

idea of the day

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

there is a paradox to the daily idea.

if i didn't think anyone ever read the site i would give up the cause.

but, the more i know people are reading, the more inclined i am to moderate and censor the content making it overall much less enjoyable (i assure you!) to read.

idea of the day

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i was talking to the sweetest lady at the [redacted] shop yesterday and she asked if i was aware of the u.s. association. apparently wanganui has a club of folks that get together once a month to talk about u.s. stuff.

she took me to the window where she had hung their flier with pictures celebrating u.s. holidays like the 4th of july, thanksgiving and halloween. i told her the best thing the u.s. association could do for new zealand is teach them how to properly conduct halloween.

in a gasp she told me "halloween should be banned. it does terrible harm to all the fairies and good elementals."

it took a second, but i suggested folks could dress up as fairies, eat candies and what good elemental wouldn't be pleased with that. but i could tell, my membership in the u.s. association had already been jeopardized.

idea of the day

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

after all the bad press i've been giving mt ruapehu, today it was brilliant.

idea of the day

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i may have cried the other day about how the mountain weather has been treating me, but its been even less kind to the forecasters (but give them huge credit for owning up to being "dead wrong" 85% of the time on five day forecasts):

five day:
14% spot on
0% mostly right
85% dead wrong
(over 14 predictions)

��

three day:
35% spot on
21% mostly right
42% dead wrong
(over 14 predictions)

idea of the day

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

due to weather conditions on the mountain, i have only been able to use my mt. ruapehu season pass twice. this represents the best of the 'good day' i had:

idea of the day

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

the latest installment of fear every shadow appears to be criminal searches. it cautions:

do you really know who people are? ...we associate with them and even invite them in our homes. do they have a criminal background? are your children safe with them?

i would suggest that this site doesn't really know who people are either. granted it knows my brother has a criminal record. but it doesn't know he attempted to hide his identity from police by giving them my personal details instead of his own. they list my birthdate in place of his. had they also listed my name along with his offenses, its possible my neighbors might have stopped inviting me in to their homes or letting me play with their children and i would never have known why.

ok, so maybe this isn't so bad after all.

idea of the day

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i don't imagine the distribution of simple to gifted people in new zealand is that much different than in the united states, but somehow that stereotypical class of government worker at the dmv, or burger flipper at the corner fast food restaurant doesn't seem to exist here.

i wonder if people in these types of positions in new zealand are just less belligerent than their counterparts in the states or if there is some even more heinous jobs they have been shunted off to that i am spared interaction with.

idea of the day

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:00:00 GMT

when we got to ninety days left in new zealand i couldn't believe how fast the year had past.

at sixty days i got sad about leaving and started feeling reminiscent about everything.

now at thirty days, i feel like ted stevens waiting to show up and serve his jail time.

oh, pardon me, i think i'm ahead of myself. ted stevens has only been indicted so far, he won't know what i feel like for a few more months...

idea of the day

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i track the value of my portfolio daily (because i don't have enough to be bitter about already) and i've noticed a very interesting trend, my portfolio can rise in dollars a day but almost always drops in hundreds...

idea of the day

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

after returning home from seeing the dark night, natalie needed some schooling on two-face so i turned to the ever handy wikipedia. there is almost always something in wikipedia entries that makes me smile and this time i found it in the preamble ensuring i had landed on the right page:

this article is about the dc comics villain. for the nigerian musician, see 2face idibia. for the brazilian soap opera, see duas caras. for craniofacial duplication, see diprosopus.

you know i clicked on the craniofacial duplication link (right after duas caras of course)...

idea of the day

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

our attempt to teach our children to speak spanish by having in home, native spanish language child care since they were babies has been on so successful. both our children have great spanish comprehension but neither speak it much.

except logan has a collection of words like the following which she only knows in spanish:

bolso (purse/bag)
princessa (princess)
cenicienta (cinderella)
vestido (dress)
pelo (hair)

in case it isn't obvious, she knows these words in spanish because she has never, or seldom heard them in english...

idea of the day

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i'm going to do you a favor today. instead of wasting time with my drivel, go read something worth while over at the field negro.

you can thank me later.

idea of the day

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

this is what you like to hear when your customer is commenting on your application's diagnostic messages:

not quite that, but pleasantly rude nonetheless!"

idea of the day

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i'm not impressed that someone is busy or important because they always have to cancel or reschedule meetings.

i'm disappointed they aren't capable of the rather simple task of managing their calendar.

idea of the day

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

the automobile association "aa" of new zealand rated the top 101 must-do kiwi experiences.

turns out we've had a lot of those experiences so far and all of them were worth doing.

# experience been there
done that

1 Mitre Peak & Milford Sound

2 Doubtful Sound

3 Bay of Islands

4 Fiordland National Park

5 Abel Tasman National Park

6 Aoraki Mount Cook

7 Coastal Kaikoura

8 Hanmer Springs

9 Camping Country

10 Tutukaka / The Poor Knights

11 Marlborough Sounds

12 Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers

13 Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro

14 Waitomo Caves

15 Southern Scenic Route

16 Otago Rail Experience

17 White Island

18 Stewart Island

19 Arthur's Pass National Park

20 Tongariro Alpine Crossing

21 The Blue Pools of Haast Pass

22 South Westland

23 Waipoua Forest

24 Mount Taranaki

25 Lake Tekapo

26 Ulva Island

27 Otago Peninsula

28 Canterbury Plains Hot Air Ballooning

29 Punakaiki

30 Cape Reinga

31 Auckland Gulf Islands

32 Kicking the Autumn leaves

33 Akaroa and Banks Peninsula

34 Glenorchy and Dart River

35 Farewell Spit

36 Queenstown Adventure

37 Hokianga

38 Whanganui National Park

39 Cape Kidnappers

40 Fine Wine

41 Lake Waikaremoana

42 The Queen Charlotte Track

43 Lake Matheson

44 Arrowtown

45 Orakei Korako

46 TSS Earnslaw

47 Rotorua Geothermal

48 Dunedin City

49 Winter Mountain Fun

50 Mount Maunganui: Mauao

51 Karangahake Gorge

52 Eastland

53 Animal & Crazy!

54 Hollyford Valley

55 Hot Water Beach

56 Auckland's West Coast

57 Rotorua Luge, Skyrides and Skyswing

58 Marlborough Wine Trail

59 Kapiti Island

60 New Chums Beach

61 Christchurch City

62 Mount Tarawera

63 Te Papa

64 The Bridge to Nowhere

65 Coromandel Township

66 Lake Taupo's Top Water Attractions

67 The Pinnacles

68 Te Mata Peak

69 Rotorua Rafting

70 Be A-mazed!

71 The Forgotten World Highway

72 Moeraki Boulders

73 New Plymouth's coastal walkway

74 Seafood City

75 Castlepoint

76 Wainui Beach

77 Ahipara and Shipwreck Bay

78 Buller Gorge

79 Taranaki Gardens in Paradise Tour

80 Cape Palliser

81 Auckland War Memorial Museum

82 Raglan

83 Takaka Hill: Rameka Track

84 Whakarewarewa

85 Waitangi Treaty Grounds

86 Rere Rock Slide

87 Spa and well-being destination

88 SkyJump & Sky Tower

89 Devonport and North Head

90 The Interislander Experience

91 Auckland Volcanoes

92 Central Otago Curling

93 Port Waikato

94 Golf in an Alpine Amphitheatre

95 Hundertwasser Toilets

96 Wellington Writers' Walk

97 Cross-country skiing

98 Stonehenge Aotearoa

99 NZ Rugby Museum

100 Beehive and Parliament buildings

101 Attend a Must-Do Event...

#	experience	been there done that
1	Mitre Peak & Milford Sound
2	Doubtful Sound
3	Bay of Islands
4	Fiordland National Park
5	Abel Tasman National Park
6	Aoraki Mount Cook
7	Coastal Kaikoura
8	Hanmer Springs
9	Camping Country
10	Tutukaka / The Poor Knights
11	Marlborough Sounds
12	Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers
13	Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro
14	Waitomo Caves
15	Southern Scenic Route
16	Otago Rail Experience
17	White Island
18	Stewart Island
19	Arthur's Pass National Park
20	Tongariro Alpine Crossing
21	The Blue Pools of Haast Pass
22	South Westland
23	Waipoua Forest
24	Mount Taranaki
25	Lake Tekapo
26	Ulva Island
27	Otago Peninsula
28	Canterbury Plains Hot Air Ballooning
29	Punakaiki
30	Cape Reinga
31	Auckland Gulf Islands
32	Kicking the Autumn leaves
33	Akaroa and Banks Peninsula
34	Glenorchy and Dart River
35	Farewell Spit
36	Queenstown Adventure
37	Hokianga
38	Whanganui National Park
39	Cape Kidnappers
40	Fine Wine
41	Lake Waikaremoana
42	The Queen Charlotte Track
43	Lake Matheson
44	Arrowtown
45	Orakei Korako
46	TSS Earnslaw
47	Rotorua Geothermal
48	Dunedin City
49	Winter Mountain Fun
50	Mount Maunganui: Mauao
51	Karangahake Gorge
52	Eastland
53	Animal & Crazy!
54	Hollyford Valley
55	Hot Water Beach
56	Auckland's West Coast
57	Rotorua Luge, Skyrides and Skyswing
58	Marlborough Wine Trail
59	Kapiti Island
60	New Chums Beach
61	Christchurch City
62	Mount Tarawera
63	Te Papa
64	The Bridge to Nowhere
65	Coromandel Township
66	Lake Taupo's Top Water Attractions
67	The Pinnacles
68	Te Mata Peak
69	Rotorua Rafting
70	Be A-mazed!
71	The Forgotten World Highway
72	Moeraki Boulders
73	New Plymouth's coastal walkway
74	Seafood City
75	Castlepoint
76	Wainui Beach
77	Ahipara and Shipwreck Bay
78	Buller Gorge
79	Taranaki Gardens in Paradise Tour
80	Cape Palliser
81	Auckland War Memorial Museum
82	Raglan
83	Takaka Hill: Rameka Track
84	Whakarewarewa
85	Waitangi Treaty Grounds
86	Rere Rock Slide
87	Spa and well-being destination
88	SkyJump & Sky Tower
89	Devonport and North Head
90	The Interislander Experience
91	Auckland Volcanoes
92	Central Otago Curling
93	Port Waikato
94	Golf in an Alpine Amphitheatre
95	Hundertwasser Toilets
96	Wellington Writers' Walk
97	Cross-country skiing
98	Stonehenge Aotearoa
99	NZ Rugby Museum
100	Beehive and Parliament buildings
101	Attend a Must-Do Event...

idea of the day

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

a professional photographer came to our apartment yesterday because the landlord is getting ready to rent the place after we leave. on his way out he said:

"i rather like your glasses. they quite suit you."

i rather like the source and content of this remark and since my inbox isn't overflowing with praise so i might as well echo the little bit i get myself.

idea of the day

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

last month the gym i belong to began a promotion and gave away two weeks free trial memberships. it was like january second in the u.s. when all the 'lose weight' resolution lemmings flock to the gym. well, we're to the end of the promotion and just like the end of january the migratory lemmings have come and gone.

all gone but one that is. one incredibly large woman started coming during the promotion and long after her tribe came and went she has kept coming. she comes every day, works her tail off, turns a frightening array of colors, leaves and comes back the next day to do it again.

truth is, i'm highly motivated by this woman. she's obviously pushing herself hard and according to the book i just finished, the hate directed at a fat person is nothing compared to the hate directed at a fat person exercising.

i'd really like to tell her that i think its awesome she has made the cut when everyone else washed out but unfortunately my most sincere compliments always come off insulting (just ask the relatively small group of people who still put up with me). so i'll just give her props here and hope someone else closer to her recognizes all the efforts she's putting in.

idea of the day

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

watch these videos in order, the first is from new zealand travel and business, the second is 100% truth.

100% pure new zeland

100% truth

idea of the day

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

last night, and i couldn't make this up, carolina made dinner from a recipe in a kids book about rationing in england during world war ii.

the verdict, you'd have to be starving to eat it.

idea of the day

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 07:00:00 GMT

i recently had to evict some folks from a property i own and instead of leaving behind any of the back rent, they left behind a large box of these scam letters from prepaid "r" us.

in case you've read through the 'business plan' and still aren't convinced its a scam i can assure you by the debt my tenants racked up these letters made them no money and of all the garbage they did move out, these letters were one of the fews things they didn't think worth while to take...